The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for the veteran's unspecified depressive disorder. The decision was based on the evidence showing occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, but not more severe manifestations.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms did not warrant a higher rating as they did not cause occupational and social impairment in most areas.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- January 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25003428
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 352 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25003428.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current unspecified depressive disorder is related to his service-connected disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder with insomnia disorder is rated at 30 percent, and the Board has determined that this rating is not sufficient to reflect his disability picture.
- Granted
The Veteran's anxiety and depressive disorders were rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective May 6, 2015.,Effective May 6, 2015, the Veteran was granted an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder is granted, while the claim for PTSD remains denied due to lack of credible supporting evidence and in-service stressor confirmation.
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